Safely Working on Your Home’s Exterior

Doing work on the exterior of your home is a necessity from time to time. Whether you’re cleaning out the gutters in the fall or giving the trim a new coat of paint in the spring, there always seems to be something that needs to be done. But many of the things you have to do around the exterior of your home involve scaling heights and climbing up on ladders, and that can be a safety risk. Here are a few tips for keeping safe while you’re doing these tasks.

Always Have Someone Helping You

The first thing you want if you’re going to be doing anything risky is to have someone with you to act as a second set of eyes and to get help if you were to injure yourself. If you’re climbing up a ladder and the ladder starts to tip, you want someone who can help steady it. If you’re cutting branches out of a tree, another person on the ground can alert you if the branches are going to land on things. It always helps to have someone there even if he or she is not able to physically help you do anything.

Use the Right Tools

You want to be sure you’re using the correct tools for the job. This doesn’t just make the job easier to do, but it also makes it safer and ensures that you won’t accidentally hurt yourself or damage your property. There are also some tools and equipment that are safer to use than others. For example, instead of using a ladder that could tip over, you could use a scaffold tower such as the ones available at http://www.toptower.co.uk/scaffold-towers.html.

These towers have a wide base and more than two legs so they aren’t balanced up against your house, tree, or anything else. They can stand on their own and provide a wider, more stable work space for painting your home, cleaning your gutters, or trimming trees. Many can even be used by two people at once, making the job easier to do.

Know How to Use Those Tools

Having the right tools is only going to make your tasks easier and safer if you know how to use them. For example, you need to take the time to understand how a chainsaw operates and how to safely start and stop it before you start using one to cut down a tree. Read all the safety instructions that came with your equipment before you use it to ensure that you don’t accidentally injure yourself or others.

Wear Safety Gear

Also wear the appropriate safety gear. You may need to wear gloves, protective glasses, or even a helmet, depending on what work you’re going to be doing. In many cases, it’s a good idea to wear a long-sleeved shirt and trousers so that no debris hits your bare skin. If you’re doing something that kicks up a lot of dust or puts off noxious fumes, you might also need to wear a face mask or a cloth tied around your mouth and nose so that you don’t inhale anything dangerous.